Arcanist
A race of casters from unnamed lands. Their circles inflict crippling effects, and can be released to attack or heal. ''- In-game description The '''Arcanist '(ミスティック Mystic) excels where not many can - the art of debuffing and inflicting powerful status defects. They can destroy their enemies with circles of numerous types, or even heal their allies using their powerful circles. Ill-suited for physical damage as they are, they can only deal high damage by dispelling an active circle to an enemy at any distance. Arcanists are generally favored with a Nightseeker, due to the fact that the Nightseeker benefits heavily from enemies with status ailments. Overview Akin to Hexers from the first two games, Arcanists specialize in inflicting crippling ailments or binds to multiple enemies at once, allowing the rest of the party to lay into them. These are accomplished using Circles, which not only inflict the bind/ailment to all enemies, but also repeatedly attempt the specified ailment/bind at the end of the turn, over 3 turns, without needing any further input from the Arcanist. In the meantime, the Arcanist is free to set down their debuffs or utilize other skills granted by their subclass, while their Circle Boon passively heals the party. In the chance that the circle is no longer needed, usually due to all enemies being afflicted, the Arcanist converts the circle into pure damage with Dismiss Blow or Dismiss Blast, or supports the party with a powerful Dismiss Heal. To improve their ability at crippling enemies, Arcanists have incredible Luck growth, and their strong Technique stat empowers their damaging and healing ability. Their durability only barely surpasses the Runemasters, so it is best that the Arcanist remain at the back row during battles. *'Strengths:' Capable of shutting down multiple enemies at once, great support capability. *'Weaknesses:' TP-taxing skills, skill tree requires large skill point investments to fully utilize. Stat Progression EO4 = |-| EON = To unlock (EO4) The Arcanist class is unlocked after defeating the Hollow Queen in the 2nd Maze. Report your successful mission to the Outland Court, after some dialogue, Wufan will give you the Circle Staff, which will now allow you to recruit them. Wufan herself also offers to permanently join the guild. Skill Tree Etrian Odyssey 4 Novice = |-| Veteran = |-| Master = Etrian Odyssey Nexus Novice = |-| Veteran = |-| Master = Subclassing EO4= Subclasses for Arcanists The skew in Arcanist stat growth that favours Technique over Strength locks out a lot of synergy with the more physically-oriented subclasses. The heavy skill point demand in the main skill tree for an optimized Arcanist can also make it difficult to spare enough free skill points to best use the subclasses' abilities. However, there are still a few options that can utilize the Arcanist stat distribution: * Nightseeker: Throw skills are mainly used to inflict ailments - particularly curse and blind which the Arcanist circles lack - so that the Arcanist can focus more on binding circles. Assassinate can also help the Arcanist eliminate threats after spreading ailments with their circles. Speed Boost gives the Arcanist increased turn speed to efficiently shut down the opposition with circles or debuffs. * Medic: Subclassing Medic to Arcanist turns Arcanist into the most efficient healer of the game. Heal Mastery and Steady Hands amplifies all healing effects, allowing for Circle Boon to provide great amounts of passive regeneration and also amplifying the effect of Dismiss Heal. Due to how Circles operate, Arcanists will have several free turns to support the party through Revive, Refresh and Recovery. Party Heal allows the Arcanist to heal the team without needing to spend time setting up and using a Circle. TP Boost raises the Arcanist's own battle stamina. * Runemaster: Mainly for TP Boost and Free Energy, it will greatly cover their TP and have synergy with their mastery skills. Arcanists have a very good Tec growth, second only to the Runemasters, so the Rune attack spells are good alternate offensive options should the Arcanist have the skill points to spare. As Dismiss Blow and Dismiss Blast classify as untyped, Runic Flare can also vastly improve the damage done. Arcanist as Subclass Most of the Circle-related skills work best when they have maximal investment - instead, Arcanists are usually chosen for their Ailment Boost passive that raises bind/ailment success, and TP Return once a bind/ailment succeeds. Optionally, Releasal Spell is picked for resetting a boss' ailment/bind resistance to make it easier to shut them down again. *'Nightseekers' and Snipers base their strategy around binds and ailments; Ailment Boost and TP Return are absolutely necessary to make them stronger and last longer. *'Medics' optionally utilize Circle Boon for passive healing over time, leaving their hands free to do other things like cure binds/ailments without needing further input. |-| EON = Subclass for Arcanist The Arcanist skill tree is incredibly skill point intensive, especially for one that tries to have investment in multiple Circles. You may need to Rest to reallocate skill points to your needs. Pick your investment and subclass carefully. *A War Magus subclass gives the Arcanist added support through War Heal skills. On an addled enemy the Arcanist can also deliver individual binds with the binding War Edge skills, or use Strength Slash or Guard Slash to further addle the enemy with long-lasting debuffs. *'Zodiacs' are chosen as a subclass for the more proactive Arcanist, as their elemental Stars let the Arcanist deliver damage using their better INT stat without needing to Dismiss. The class also has TP Up and Free Energy to amplify the character's TP stat. *Like before, a Nightseeker subclass offers more ailment support, allowing the Arcanist a nearly perfect ailment coverage. Shadow Cloak can be used to improve survivability. *'Harbingers' are a popular selection for Arcanist due to added debuff support. Wilting Miasma and Binding Miasma improve the accuracy of the Arcanist's own Circles, on top of another Status ATK Up for overall circle efficiency. Atonement also works as an emergency healing skill for an addled party. Avoid over-investment in Eroding Miasma and Stifling Miasma as the Arcanist's own debuffs will be stronger. Arcanist as Subclass Conversely, the incredible skill point demands of the Arcanist's skills make it very difficult for them to function well as a subclass. *The War Magus can use the Arcanist ailment Circles to inflict ailments on their own so they can unleash their War Edge skills afterwards. Circle Boon also adds to passive healing while it's active, and works in tandem with their own Artery skill for hands-off healing. *'Farmers' can use the Arcanist subclass to make the most of their sky-high Luck stat. The ailment Circles give them another way to disable enemies, and Status ATK Up can improve the strength of their Strange Seeds skill. They can also gain access to Charm Eye and Atrophic Eye for debuffs. Category:Etrian Odyssey IV Classes Category:Etrian Odyssey IV Category:Etrian Odyssey Nexus Classes